The Informal Knowledge Platform on Sustainable Agricultural Investments: Report from the first Workshop

With increasing global attention on food security, a new wave of international agricultural investments (especially in Africa) and an increasing role of private sector for development in general, there is a need for enhanced understanding of the key issues and players involved. The European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) brought together different stakeholders from Africa, Europe, and China, to explore opportunities for multi-stakeholder dialogue and for possible collaborations within an ‘informal knowledge platform on sustainable agricultural investments’.

This workshop, meant to be the first of a series of events, was specifically aimed at mapping out stakeholders’ interests and priority areas. Against the backdrop of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the role of emerging economies in African agriculture, the workshop covered the roles of external assistance, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in contributing to sustainable agricultural development in Africa.

Present at the meeting were African, Chinese, European and other stakeholders from a wide range of fields including international development organisations, government agencies, businesses, development banks, business councils, academia and research institutions.

Overarching questions:

• How can agricultural investments be more sustainable and further support smallholder farmers and overall agricultural productivity, growth and development? 
• What lessons can be learnt from Chinese/European agricultural development models and investments? 
• How can multi-stakeholder partnerships be fostered and contribute to the implementation and improvement of the CAADP? 
• How can the implementation of CSR be improved to contribute to sustainable agricultural development in Africa 
• What forms of PPPs, appropriate to more effective and sustainable agricultural investments, are needed?

Read the Workshop Report

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